Chinese firm to train 5,000 workers on rail technology

China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), contracted to build the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), plans to train more than 5,000 employees in railway technology. This will improve the skills of Kenyans working on the railway as construction of the Sh327 billion project gathers momentum.

The engineers and technicians trained through the initiative will come in handy in running the railway after its completion.

“What we are bringing to Kenya is not just the railway hardware but also advanced systems that will help in the operation of the railway system,” said CRBC manager in charge of Human Resource for the SGR project Yang Peng during a recent tour by CRBC management to inspect ongoing SGR construction works.

“To enable Kenyans participate effectively in the construction of the new railway, CRBC will train our Kenyan workers on different aspects of railway technology. It will capture the different aspects of railway management and operationalisation.”

He said employees to be selected for the training will be attached to expatriate CRBC engineers for some time. Some of them will then be required to attend class where different tutors will teach them on among other things railway construction and maintenance.

In its initial phase, the programme will see about 2,000 of engineers, technicians and artisans trained in railway construction, operation and management. The employees trained will go up to 5,000, some of whom will be trained in management of the railway after it starts operations.

Yang said the firm had started training 1,000 engineers to up the quality of their skills. Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Kenya Han Chunlin said improving the capacity of Kenyan workers would put the country in a better position.